Wall tile clip



Oct. '13, 1942.

E. P. LOCKART WALL TI LE CLIP Fil'ed Dec. 18', 1940 I EPLac-ZZQrZINVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 13, 1942 WALL TILE CLIP Edward P.Lockart, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to Owens-Illinois Glass Company, acorporation of Ohio Application December 18, 1940, SerialNo. 370,362

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to improved means for supporting wall tileor the likeand relates more particularly to novel means for rigidly andremovably securing tile sections to wall surfaces of any suitableconstruction.

It has become common practice to construct wall surfaces both interiorand exterior, from materials which are preformed in various shapes andthickness'such as square or oblong blocks, tiles, slabs, sheets orplates. The material employed may be of any suitable substance such asstone, glass or other ceramic tile, depending upon the desired finaleffect. Generally in walls of such construction the elements are ofasize which may be readily handled for installation and which areeconomical when it becomes necessary to replaceone of the tiles. Thedimensions of such tiles may be roughly 6"x 6" and usually not more than1" thick inasmuch as they are employed only as a facing for the wall andnot as a part of the supporting structure.

It is an object of the present invention to provide novel means forattaching such wall tiles to a prepared wall surface.

Another object of the invention is the provision of new and practicaltile holding means adapted to be placed at the corner of the tile forsupporting and spacing adjacent tiles.

A further object is the provision of a unit clip for resilientlyretaining wall tiles in position in I such manner that any tile may beremoved or replaced without disturbing adjacent tiles.

A further object of the invention is the provision of wall tileretaining clips mounted in spaced relation upon a supporting means forpositively aligning the tiles.

A still further object is the provision of a tile supporting andretaining clip which is economical and simple to manufacture and easilyhandled for installation,

Other objects will be in part apparent and in part pointed outhereinafter.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a wall structure embodyingmy invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the tile holder forming the subject of thepresent invention.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view through-the holder and the wallstructure to which it is attached, the view being taken on line 3-3 ofFig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the holder.

Fig. 5 is a rear elevational view of the holder in assembled relationwith several tiles.

' struction.

Fig. G ls a'sectional plan view of a modified form of'iny invention.

The use of wall tiles as a decorating medium for both interior andexterior wall structures, has become increasingly popular due to thewide variety of materials available, The tiles may be successfullyemployed either as a part of new.

wall construction or they may be readily applied to existing walls. As aparticular example, walls which are frequently subjected to excessivemoisture such as bath and shower rooms, may be surfaced with awater-proof tile which when bonded together, present asealed leak-proofsurface.

Fig. 1 of the drawing illustrates a portion of a supporting wall surface8 which may be of any suitable construction whichwill present asupporting surface at least adjacent the area of the vertical meetingedges of the tiles. Wall surface tiles ordinarily do not form a partofthe supporting structure of the wall andtherefore may be of relativelythin and light weight con- A base member 9 which forms the foundation orsupport for the lower course of tiles is suitably secured to the wallsurface and a series of tile holders Ill or clips are spaced thereon.

Each slip I0 is formed from a rectangular sheet of a preferablynon-corrosive metal having a semi-rigid quality which permits of aslight resiliency in the finished article as will be brought outhereinafter. The sheet (Fig. 4) is bent to form a body portion II, inthe form of an incomplete cylinder, the longitudinal edge portions l2thereof being bent substantially radially outward in the form of flangesdisposed in parallel spaced relation. The flanges l2 are out as at I3 toform pairs of tabs M which are bent outwardly beyond the perpendicularto an inclined position. The tabs provide the means whereby tiles l5 arecentered and uniformly spaced as will be presently described.

The clip is attached to the wall by means of a nail [6 extending througha medial opening I! in the cylindrical portion and an opening l8 in thelower edge portion between the tabs. Thus the nail may be driven intothe wall in a downwardly directed manner while maintaining the clip insubstantially horizontal position. Nail openings [9 in the wall of thecylindrical portion, provide additional means for securing the clip.

One form of tile IS with which the present clipgroove 2| which with theoppositely disposed groove in the edge of the adjoining tile, forms anannular channel. These channels extend around the tiles and thecylindrical bodies I I of the clips are seated therein. In normalinstallation of tiles with the present form of clip, the lowermost rowof clips is placed on the base member 9 and according to prevailingconditions, it may be necessary to unbend the lower tabs I4 so that theclips will lie in the proper position for setting the tiles. The widthof the tiles regulates the spacing of the clips. Each succeeding tile(Fig. 5) is placed with the lower rounded comer in contactwith one ofthe upwardly extending tabs l 4 thereby spacing it a predetermineddistance from the adjacent tile. As course is layedupon course, theclips perform the function of suspendingand retaining the tiles at eachcorner as shown in Fig. 5. The cylindrical or body portion-of the clipby its engagement within the groove, securely holds the tiles inproperly spaced relation so that when a caulking compound 22 is placedwithinthe crevices or joints between the tiles, the points will producea uniform appearance.

A modified form of my invention is illustrated in Fig. 6. The clips l0aremountedona continuous cord 23 and spaced according to the size of thetile with which it is to be used; The cord may be treated with awaterproofing material orotherwise treated to prevent deterioration.since it forms a backing against which caulking-.material is forced.When the cord is employed, the space between the tiles is thus partiallyfilled thereby considerably reducing the volume of caulking materialneeded.

When a tile becomes defaced or cracked, it may be readily brokenor'pried out-and a new one substituted by simply forcing the tileagainst; the clips until they spring apart and then snap-into thegrooves 2|.

Modifications may be resorted to withinthe spirit and scope of theappended claims;

I claim:

1. A corner clip for holding rectangular wall tiles having grooves inthe edges thereof, said clip comprising a substantially cylindricalportion for engaging in the grooves on the horizontal edges of thetiles, said clip including spaced parallel edge engaging portions forsupporting and spacing superposed tiles at the corners thereof, andmeans forming a part-of said edge portions for maintaining uniformhorizontal spacing of the tiles, said clip including aligned openings toaccommodate a fastening element.

2; A-corner clip for holding rectangular wall tiles having grooves inthe edges thereof, said clip comprising a substantially cylindricalportion for engaging in the grooves on the horizontal edges of thetiles, said clip including spaced parallel edge engagin portions forsupporting and spacing superposed tiles at the corners thereof, andmeans forming a part of said edge portions for maintaining uniformhorizontal spacing of the tiles, said clip including aligned openings toaccommodate a fastening element.

3. In a clip of the character described, an elongated substantiallycylindrical body formed of resilient-sheet metal and including a pair oflongitudinal parallel spaced flanges and a pair of inclined tabs struckoutwardly from longitudinally spaced points on each flange, said bodyportion having a radial opening to accommodate anchoring means for theclip.

4. In a clip of the character described, an elongated substantiallycylindrical body formed of resilient sheet metal and including a pair oflongitudinal parallel spaced flanges and a pair of inclined tabs struckoutwardly from longitudinally spaced points on each flange, and saidbody portion and one of the flanges having aligned openingstoaccommodate anchorin means for the clip.

EDWARD P. LOCKART.

